Recently the very popular Firefox browser underwent a new update, bringing with it many new features and benefits. The new Firefox 21 Beta is the latest release from the Mozilla Foundation, and is an open-source, free browser.
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One today in a live media spectacle that felt like a pale imitation of an Apple event. In the end what they unveiled looked a lot like some of the HTPC systems that I used to build more than a gaming console. In truth the new Xbox One probably has more in common with your traditional HTPC than Microsoft would like to admit. But there are still some cool things in it that make it interesting and probably unique in the industry.
About a month ago a memo was “leaked’ by the DEA to CNET that started a storm of articles about how secure some online messaging systems were. The memo appeared to indicate the Apple’s iMessage service was so secure that it could not be broken by government agents. They claimed that they were not able to get message details or information. Sadly, the memo ended up making the DEA look incompetent and showed that it was just an attempt to sway public opinion on the need for more surveillance powers for law enforcement.
The rumors about Acer ICONIA W3-810 were going around for quite some time, but they always came from unverified sources. Although the device has not yet been introduced, the company's site in the Finnish market posted official information about it
If you have not heard of Jolla you are not alone and do not be too disappointed either. The company was founded by a few former Nokia employees that were not happy with the decision to tie the companies (Nokia’s) fate to Windows Phone. Instead they wanted to see if they could take the MeeGo OS and make it a reality and so they introduce SailFish. SailFish is an Android compatible OS that like many others is Linux based. The question is; is this new phone and Nokia inspired OS going to show us what could have been, or will it be just another phone in an Android Sea?
In eight years of existence, YouTube has achieved the results about which its founders Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, all of them former employees of PayPal, probably would not even dare to dream. According to the latest information that the service posted on the occasion of the eighth anniversary on YouTube's official blog, at this moment, every minute on YouTube servers 100 hours of video are being uploaded.
Owners of Barnes&Noble e-books can soon expect a software upgrades that should significantly extends the functionality of the device. The upgrade will be available early next month, and they refer to readers Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with Glowlight.
Despite there being no clear reason to do so it looks like Microsoft is going to go ahead and push out a smaller version of their Windows 8/RT tablets. The information was leaked accidentally today by Acer Finland. The new product is going to be called the Iconia W3-810. When the rumor about an 8-inch Windows RT device first hit opinions varied as to if this was going help or hurt Microsoft and Windows RT. After a lukewarm launch sales of Windows RT and then Windows 8 devices immediately started to decline. Some blamed the radical redesign of the UI while other felt it was the locked down OS that kept people away. No matter what the cause Window 8 and RT sales were and are continuing to fall which is worrisome for Microsoft.
Samsung records excellent sales results for their new flagship smartphone Galaxy S4. According to Samsung's deputy director Shin Jong-Kyun, the company pass the milestone of 10 million units sold next week.
The Google Glass project has caused some concern in Washington. They seem to feel that a device that can capture still images and movies which you wear around all the time could be a problem. Already we have seen casinos ban them, which is not surprising as they could be used to cheat the house. Next to ban Google Glass were the strip clubs, again not a big surprise and you can imagine why. Google Glass could be a problem and we can see businesses, schools and other place banning their use in the very near future. Still we wonder about Congress getting involved. Is their concern really about privacy?
Overall spending on gaming industry the U.S. in April was $495.2 million, which is 25% less than in the same period a year earlier.
Not only that they are struggling with the fragmentation of operating system, the authors of applications for Android are faced with another problem - piracy.
802.11ac wireless was introduced at CES 2012. Unfortunately when the devices were launched there were no adapters to support it. This meant that people were buying expensive wireless products without having any way to support the speeds they were capable of. Fortunately at CES 2013 a couple of manufacturers started releasing 802.11ac adapters. However, there are two schools of thought about how to implement these adapters. We will be taking a look at both in the next couple of weeks, but we will kick things off with a look at the USB 2.0 NETGEAR A6200 Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi Adapter. Let’s dive in and take a look.
“Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator and this must be the heart.” – Metropolis, 1927 - Universum
Although Tumblr is often derisively described as a heaven for hipsters and misunderstood teenagers, it does not change the fact that it is one of the largest blog services that exist. Tumblr now has over a hundred million blogs, hence rumors that Yahoo wants to buy it for a billion dollars does not really sound surprising.
Market of mechanical keyboards is bigger for another model. Das Keyboard Quiet was presented for those who want the benefits that mechanical switches offer, but still want a silent keyboard.
According to market research firm IDC, during the first three months of this year on a global scale 216.2 million "smart" mobile phones were delivered, which is 41.6% more than in the same period a year earlier.
Google is not happy with Microsoft at the moment. It seems that Microsoft has done something rather foolish to the YouTube app for Windows Phone. Instead of following the normal restrictions that most other mobile players follow, they (Microsoft) have decided to let their users download videos from YouTube and to block ads completely during video playback.
Security is a huge issue and has always been one ever since the first person decided they wanted to protect what they owned. Through the centuries the art of security has evolved and a multitude of inventions have blossomed on the scene to help us keep our property safe and secure. Once the data age started we had new concerns and our fertile minds came up with new and more creative ways to protect our new digital property. These two separate (yet dependent) fields are broken down into physical and digital security. The problem is that neither of these are effective unless we apply human security. This is the practice of securing people (humans) against being the largest security hole in any network or location.
Sharp will soon start mass producing of IGZO LCD screens for laptops. This would finally should allow bigger availability of high resolution screens in laptops, which have so far been well behind in comparison to tablets in the density of dots per inch.
At the I/O conference Google introduced a significantly enhanced version of their Maps service, which includes the "view from the road" generated by users and "live" images of clouds.
Electronic Arts has confirmed that they intend to cancel the Online Pass program. John Reseburg explains that the whole thing will not be included in a future EA's titles since the players were not too thrilled with the concept. And if you know how it works, it's weird that they have not figured out earlier how bad the concept is.
We have been covering the emerging technology behind wearable computing and in particular smart watches to get a better grasp on this technology. In our articles we have listed companies like I’m Spa and their I’m Watch, Samsung, Apple and ConnecteDevice Cookoo Watch. We were quickly reminded by our readers that there are others out there and one in particular was mentioned (repeatedly). This is the Pebble Smartwatch.
It looks like the US wants to export something new to the world, now we are not talking about a technology. We are talking about our draconian copyright laws. You remember those nasty laws that the entertainment industry and software companies keep extending and expanding. For years our government has tried to be the police for these groups with laws like SOPA, PIPA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act and more. Well they are trying to force other countries to adopt these same rules and using trade agreements to do it. They have already been stopped once with ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) when they tried to remove the rights of individual countries to establish their own laws and are at it again with the Trans Pacific Partnership.
Earlier today we published an article showing how Apple is trying to get out of the price-fixing jam they are in with the US DoJ. Their new tactic is to try and show that they did nothing wrong or that the publishers that they dealt with had not already intended to do. Looking over the evidence and Apple’s pattern in dealing with partners actually looks more like Apple was behind things and used their knowledge of the situation to bring the others onboard. Now we are finding out that the DoI feels this way too and that they also have some evidence to back it up in the form of testimony from the 5 publishers in the original suit.
From Electronic Arts came the news about the recent opening of a new R&D departments in Los Angeles. It was confirmed that the department DICE LA will be responsible for creation of games from the famous Star Wars franchise. DICE LA has already gathered developers from Danger Close development house, which is responsible for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, and Karl-Magnus Troedsson of DICE acknowledges that by year-end department in Los Angeles will have sixty employees.
Mozilla has released Firefox 21, fresh edition of the popular Internet browser. Published versions are intended for PCs and Android devices, and are bringing only minor changes in comparison to the predecessor.
According to Ars Technica, the U.S. Homeland Security closed a key account for mobile payment associated with Bitcoin Stock Exchange Mt. Gox. This is the account Dwolla owned by Mutum Sigillum (Mt. Gox property) from which resources are paid to the account of Mt. Goxa which is the largest Bitcoin exchange on the Internet. For those who do not know, Dwolla was the easiest way of buying Bitcoin as other services for online payment, such as PayPal, for example, do not give the option to purchase Bitcoin.
Touch as a form of input for a computer system is rather old although most people regard it as a new technology. It was even around long before the move to flat display panels happened. These touch input methods were often very rudimentary, but they got the job done. If all you needed was to hit a button on a screen for a point of sale system then making a matrix that could detect this was not that complicated. As the technology developed it split into different facets. One of them, the touch screen, is what you most often hear about when someone talks about touch. It is this that Microsoft and others are talking about when they say touch is the future. I say they are wrong.
Apple just will not give up in trying to get out of the pickle they are in over price fixing eBooks. Despite some pretty convincing evidence that Steve Jobs put together a new agency model with Apple at the head they are still claiming that Apple did nothing wrong. They are now trying to claim that the price of eBooks went down after their agreements with five publishers. They are also trying to throw the original publishers under the bus claiming they were already trying to hurt eBook sales long before Apple got involved.
